STORRS — The UConn women pride themselves on being a family, one in which close bonds are forged as a result of the program's intensity and the players' desire to hold each other accountable.

Freshman Kiah Stokes admitted Thursday the realization her teammates didn't want to play with her because of her inconsistent effort played a major role in her recent turnaround.

Stokes felt like she was letting her teammates down the first couple months of the season because she wasn't playing up to her potential. Getting benched for two games validated that. But it wasn't until her teammates grew displeased that she understood she had to change.

Associate head coach Chris Dailey told her something was clearly wrong with her approach to practices and games.

"She (said), 'Your teammates don't like playing with you if you don't give your all,'" Stokes said. "So it kind of hits home ... When I heard that, it was kind of like another wakeup call. It just kind of hit me like, 'This is serious. I need to get going.'"

The players genuinely like Stokes and never made her feel secluded, but they wanted more production out of the strong, athletic 6-foot-3 center.

"It was frustrating," Kelly Faris said. "You look at somebody and you are around them every day, and you know what they can do. And when you see them not be able to get that, you want to push them ... You really want them to get there. That is what this program is about: getting you to that point and pushing past it."

Stokes said Dailey talked to her just after the Christmas break about picking up her intensity. She didn't respond enough and was benched by Coach Geno Auriemma for the Dec. 29 game against Fairfield.

While she tried to improve, she couldn't get on track. She would do something wrong and become fixated. She would focus on one flaw and neglect several others.

Auriemma benched her again Jan. 14 against Villanova. Afterward, Dailey explained that not only were the coaches unhappy, but so were her teammates.

"Your teammates, you are with them all the time," Stokes said. "You think that off the court everything is fine, and then she tells you something like that, and it is like, 'Oh, I need to change.'"

In the four games since then, Stokes has scored 30 points (7.5 per game) for her best four-game stretch of the season. She also averaged 7.0 rebounds and shot 60.9 percent from the field.

"For every two steps forward, she gives you a little bit of hope," Auriemma said. "I don't hesitate as much anymore to throw her in. And her practice habits have changed a lot. I said going forward that her development was going to have a big impact on how good our team was going to be down the road. And she's getting better."

Stokes played a season-high 24 minutes against Syracuse on Wednesday with eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks. She was encouraged by the fact that after a sluggish start, she was able to make adjustments in her focus and intensity and play well in the second half.

"Every day I am working harder and getting extra workouts in," Stokes said. "Each day is progress. It is getting better. I am getting more minutes and I think my teammates trust me more. I keep hoping and hoping they (gain) more trust in me."

Stokes said she is working out extra with Dailey and assistant coach Marisa Moseley on her shot and post drills. She also seeks extra help from the team's male practice players, asking them to try to block her shots so she can go up stronger and play more physically.

Faris said that Stokes has improved her overall effort and aggressiveness on the glass, and that she is posting up harder and finishing better around the basket.

"She has definitely done a (turnaround), and good for her," Faris said. "Good for her that she is realizing it, and she is changing and working on the things she needs to work on. She has gotten a lot better."

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis said she thinks Stokes was nervous and worried too much about making mistakes.

"It was really hard for us to see somebody like Kiah that we know can be a great player and a great asset to our team not playing up to her ability and not playing up to everybody else's level," Mosqueda-Lewis said. "Coach is building confidence in her. She's doing a lot better and she's been a lot more help to our team."

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